PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:
Proposed Action:
This is a consensus rule making to amend sections 1700.5(d)(2) and 1700.10 of Title 7 NYCRR.
Statutory authority:
Correction Law, section 112
Subject:
Inmate Personal Property Claims.
Purpose:
To update the current area of oversight for DOCS Office of Inmate Claims and to change reporting period.
Text of proposed rule:
Amend Section 1700.5(d)(2) as follows:
(2) Claims over $1,000. All claims approved for over $1,000 must be reviewed and approved in sequence by the Superintendent, Division of [Program Services] Budget and Finance (Office of Inmate Accounts) and the Attorney General (AG). Upon final approval, the facility will process a voucher to the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) for payment.
Amend Section 1700.10 as follows:
Facilities are required to provide annual [quarterly] reports of inmate property claims to the Division of [Program Services] Budget and Finance, Office of Inmate Accounts. The annual [quarterly] reports will [(]reflect[ing] the period[s] of April 1st [through June 30th, July 1st through September 30th, October 1st through December 31st, and January 1st] through March 31st [) will be cumulative] and will be due on the 15th of April [the month following] each year [quarter]. Reports shall include: inmate names and numbers; short descriptions of their losses; the dates of those losses; the amounts of the settlements; and claim approval dates.
Text of proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:
Maureen E. Boll, Deputy Commissioner and Counsel, New York State Department of Correctional Services, 1220 Washington Avenue, Building 2 - State Campus, Albany, NY 12206-2050, (518) 457-4951, email: Maureen.Boll@docs.state.ny.us
Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:
Same as above.
Public comment will be received until:
45 days after publication of this notice.
Consensus Rule Making Determination
In accordance with Correction Law section 112, the Commissioner of the Department of Correctional Services The commissioner of correction shall have the superintendence, management and control of the correctional facilities in the department and of the inmates confined therein, and of all matters relating to the government, discipline, policing, contracts and fiscal concerns thereof.
7 NYCRR 1700 contains the policy and procedure for the filing and recovery of value for inmate personal property which has been lost, damaged or destroyed while they have been under custody of the department. The Commissioner has determined that the Division of Budget and Finance should have responsibility for the functions of the Office of Inmate Accounts. Additionally, the Department's internal reporting mechanism for Inmate Claims is being changed from quarterly to annual.
The proposed amendment to this rule merely updates the current area of oversight for the DOCS Office of Inmate Accounts from the Division of Program Services to the Division of Budget and Finance, as was recently changed in the Department's organizational plan. The quarterly reporting of Inmate Claims activity by each facility to Central Office did not appear to provide any additional benefit when compared to annual reporting in the year end analysis of the Inmate Claims process. Therefore, to increase the efficiency of operations due to decreased staffing levels the change from quarterly to annual reporting was determined to be necessary. This change does not have any impact on an inmate's ability to file a personal property claim or to exhaust the Department's administrative remedies before filing with the Court of Claims.
The Department of Correctional Services has determined that no person is likely to object to the proposed actions because they make technical changes that are non-controversial. See SAPA § 102(11)(c).
Job Impact Statement
A job impact statement is not submitted because this proposed rule will have no adverse impact on jobs or employment opportunities. This rulemaking is merely updating the area of oversight for the Office of Inmate Accounts and revising the inmate claims reporting period from quarterly to annual in the interest of efficiency of operations.
